Multiple twist yarn texturizing apparatus and method



W. K. WYATT Sept. 29, 1970 3,530,656 MULTIPLE 'I-WIST YARN TEXTURIZING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Oct. 17, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l m MM 7 W ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 29, 1970 w. K. WYATT MULTIPLE TWIST YARN TEXTURIZING APPARATUS AND METHOD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. William Kirk Wyofi MM Filed 001;. 17, 1968 ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent US. Cl. 57-34 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus is provided for texturizing yarn in two stages; first by applying false twist to the yarn, heatsetting the same in a false twisted condition, and removing the false twist therefrom; with the second stage then comprising the winding of yarn into packages in such a manner that real twist is applied, which further texturizes the yarns, the real twist being applied by winding the yarns individually over the end of a spool, package or the like, and guiding such yarn being wound by means of a ring disposed about the spool and moveable between its ends. The ring has a traveler which travels about the ring at a rate dependent upon the peripheral take-up speed of the yarn being wound onto a spool, and the delivery speed of yarn from the false twisting apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the yarn texturizing industry, various apparatus have been developed for texturizing synthetic yarns, to give the yarns the appearance of natural yarns, and in order that synthetic yarns may have a desired bulk and other characteristics of natural yarns, such as wool.

In the course of such development, it has been found that, to false twist yarns, for example in pairs, followed by a heat-setting of the yarns in the false twisted condition and a separating of yarns thus false twisted, the above generally occuring under conditions of yarn tension, the result is generally a yarn having desirable bulk characteristics and one which is texturized, as well as being better suited to dyeing, knitting, weaving operations and the like.

An example of such a false twisting apparatus which has been highly successful in providing texturized yarn is that indicated in my previous Pat. No. 3,327,562, issued June 27, 1967.

It has now been found, that, in addition to applying and removing false twist to yarns, that yarns of an entirely different texture may be obtained by directly following the false twisting operation with a real twisting operation, wherein the yarns thus texturized may be simultaneously wound into packages, and wherein the additional characteristics imparted to the false twisted yarns may be carefully controlled in a relatively simple manner, by controlling the direction and amount of real twist applied to the yarns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention thus provides an apparatus and method for processing and texturizing yarns, wherein false twist is first applied and removed from moving yarns, and real twist is then applied to the yarns at a pre determined rate, depending upon the desired texture of the yarns.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a two-stage yarn twisting apparatus, the first stage comprising apparatus adapted for the performance of a false twisting operation, and the second stage comprising apparatus adapted for the performance of a real twisting operation, wherein the apparatus are related by a speed relationship of yarn delivery from one to the other.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for texturizing yarn comprising a false twisting and removing apparatus, and a real twisting apparatus, wherein the real twisting is effected at a rate which is responsive to the difference between the peripheral speed of a package being formed during the real twisting operation, and the speed of yarn delivery from the false twisting operation.

It is a further object of this invention to accomplish all of the above objects, wherein the false twist is applied to the yarns in pairs, with the false twist being removed from the yarns by separating the yarns, and the yarns then being individually subjected to the real twisting operation.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in this art, from a reading of the following brief description of the drawing figures, the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, and the appended claims.

It will be understood throughout this application that the term yarn is to be construed in its broadest possible sense, and refers to any strand-like material which is capable of being texturized by any of the apparatus disclosed herein. Also, it will be understood that the terms spool and package are to be read as being sufliciently broad to cover any winding of yarn into a more compact form, whether or not the spool or package is provided with covers, and whether or not such spool or package has a center post or is provided with end structures to keep yarn turns from falling off the spool or package, once such turns are wound. Furthermore, it will be understood that the term false twisting operation will generally include steps of applying false twist to yarns, setting the false twist in the yarns, and separating the false twist from the yarns.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the apparatus of this invention, schematically illustrated, and wherein apparatus for performing the false twisting operation is illustrated, with apparatus for performing the real twisting operation.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view through the real twisting apparatus of this invention, wherein there is illustrated the manner in which yarn is fed from the false twisting apparatus, through a traveler carried by a moveable ring-like member of the real twisting apparatus, to be wound into a package.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2, taken generally along the lines III-III of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, reference is first made to FIG. 1 wherein there is illustrated an apparatus, generally designated by the number 10, for performing the false twisting portion of the operation of this invention.

The apparatus 10 is generally similar to that designated in FIG. 6 of Pat. No. 3,327,462 mentioned above, and includes means (not shown) for delivering yarns Y and Y to a heater section 11, the yarns Y and Y being delivered in generally untwisted condition, and becoming twisted within the heater section as they meet therein, in a conventional manner, by followng the preset twist applied to yarns within the heater section 11.

The heater section 1.1 may be provided with a channel 12, through which the yarns Y and Y are guided and heat from a suitable source, for example an electrical source (not shown) raises the yarns Y and Y to a sufiicient predetermined temperature for setting the yarns in their twisted condition.

The yarns Y and Y are then separated at a separation point S, to pass around respectively associated posts 13 and 14 carried by a supporting member 15, the supporting member 15 in turn being carried by a bracket 16 which comprises a fixed component of the apparatus 10.

The bracket 16 carries a V-structure 17 having opposite legs 18 and 20, the legs 18 and 20 having downwardly bent terminal portions 21 and 22 respectively, which carry associated pulleys 23 and 24.

The yarns Y and Y pass beneath the posts .13 and 14, respectively, and over and around the associated pulleys 23 and 24, with the pivotal nature of the V support 17 cooperating with opposed downstream roll pairs 25 and 26 for maintaining a desired center position of the separation point S and for equalizing tensions in the yarns Y and Y being withdrawn.

The roll pair 25 includes a pair of conical rolls 27 and 28, driven in such a manner to form a take-up nip therebetween, and arranged to take up yarn at a greater rate when a yarn Y is at a portion of the roll pair 25 at which the rolls 27 and 28 have.larger diameters.

The roll pair 26 comprises a pair of rolls 30 and 31 forming a nip therebetween, in much the same manner as the roll pair 25, and also to facilitate take-up of the yarn Y at a rate which will correspond to a speed necessary to balance tensions in the yarns downstream of their separation point S.

The yarns Y and Y then pass through associated guides 32 and 33, carried by a guide support 34 which, in turn, is carried by the apparatus 10 in a manner not illustrated, with the yarns Y and Y then being delivered to the real twisting portion 35 of the apparatus of this invention.

The apparatus 35 includes a spool support 36, comprising a channel 37 and carrying a plurality of upstanding bosses 38 and 40, in which shaft-extending ends of bobbins 41 and 42, or the like, may be received, in a manner not shown for the sake of clarity, such shaftextending ends being driven in a desired direction from beneath the channel 37, either in unison, or individually, as desired.

The spools or packages 41 and 42 thus provide devices upon which the yarns Y and Y are respectively wound.

Rings or ring-like members 43 are provided, disposed approximately concentrically about the spools 41 or 42 and carried by a carrier bar 45, for traversing the spools 41 and 42 in an axial direction, in reciprocating fashion, between ends of the spools.

With particular reference to FIG. 2, it is seen that each ring 43 or 44 is provided with a C-shaped traveler 46 at a radial inner portion thereof, the traveler 46 having ends which engage in upper and lower annular grooves 47 and 48, respectively. Thus, the traveler 46 is free to travel circumferentially about the associated spool, riding in the channels 47 and 48 of an associated ring 43 or 44.

As the bobbin 41 is driven, as for example in the direction indicated by the arrow at the lower end of FIG. 2, the yarn Y, is wound about the spool 41, in layers, as the ring (for example ring 43) illustrated in FIG. 2 is reciprocated upwardly and downwardly as indicated by the arrow disposed adjacent to the ring 43 in FIG. 2. Thus, the yarn Y may be applied in layers to the bobbin 41, between its disc-like ends 50 and 51.

It will be noted that there is a single turn of twist applied to the yarn Y, for each revolution of the traveler 46 about the ring 43. Thus, the twist rate, or number of turns for a given length of yarn Y will be dependent upon the difference between the peripheral speed of yarn Y being applied in a given layer to the spool 41 and the speed of delivery of the yarn Y from the nip formed by a given conical roll pair such as that 25. In this regard it will be noted that, if the yarn is being delivered from the roll pair 25 at the speed of the application of yarn Y, to the outer layer being applied to the roll 41, although the yarn Y is shown as being taut in FIG. 3

there would be no lateral or tangential forces exerted upon the traveler 46, relative to the geometric center of the ring 43, and consequently the traveler would remain stationary at a given point on the ring 43. However, should no yarn Y be delivered from the roll pair 25, the traveler would complete one revolution for each revolution of the spool 4.1, and consequently one turn of real twist would be applied to the yarn Y for each revolution of the spool 41.

It will be apparent from the foregoing, that the yarn real twist may be controlled by the speed of delivery of yarns through the nip of a roll pair 25, and by the windup speed of the bobbins 41 and 42.

It will further be apparent that the upward and downward movement of the rings 43 or 44 may be concurrent, if desired, in that both rings 43 and 44 may be carried by a single bar 45, or in the alternative, if a more precise control over the number of turns of real twist being applied at a given rate to each package of yarn is desired, the reciprocating movement of each ring 43 may be controlled independently of all other rings, as may be the speed of rotation of the associated spool 41, be controlled independently of the speed of revolution of any other spool, for example that of the spool 42.

It will further be apparent that, although only two winding stations or bobbins 41, 42 are illustrated in the real twisting apparatus 35 of this invention, and while only a single false twisting station 10 is illustrated herein, that a large number of false twisting stations 10 would normally comprise a part of a large machine, such stations 10 being arranged in side-by-side relationship, as would be twice the number of bobbins or real twisting stations 41 and 42.

Another feature of this invention is that, because the bobbins 41 and 42 may be rotated in either direction, the nature of the real twist may either be the same as or opposite to the direction of false twist. Therefo e, with respect to a given yarn Y or Y the twists may be applied in the same direction as was the false twist, in which case the torque in the yarn and the recovery power of the same would be enhanced. Alternatively, if the bobbins are rotated in a direction for twisting the yarns Y or Y opposite to their direction of false twist, the resultant texturized yarn would be neutral insofar as yarn torque is concerned. Thus, various variations may be made in the texturized quality of yarn, by controlling the amount and direction of real twist applied to yarn upon its leaving a false twisting operation.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that various modifications may be made in the details of construction of the apparatus of this invention, along with their assembly and use, all within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for texturizing yarn in two stages comprising first means operative to form the first stage, for applying and removing false twist by continuously twisting at least two yarns about each other, setting the yarns and then untwisting the yarns relative to each other, with said first means including heat setting means for setting the yarns, with the apparatus also including second means disposed downstream of said first means, and operative to form the second stage, and for applying a controlled amount of real twist individually to the yarns by controlling the direction and amount of real twist being applied, said latter means including a bobbin, guide means disposed circumferentially about the bobbin, and a traveler therefor, said bobbin being rotatably mounted and drivable for providing means dependent upon the difference between the delivery speed of yarn from said first means and the periphe al speed of yarn being wound on to said bobbin for exerting sufiicient lateral forces on said traveler to maintain yarn being wound on to the bobbin sufliciently taut between the traveler and the bobbin for causing the traveler to move about the guide means circumferentially relative to said bobbin at a rate corresponding to the desired rate of real twist to be applied.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said guide means is mounted for axial movement relative to the bobbin being formed for traversing the bobbin between ends thereof.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first means is spindle-free.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said untwisting means includes a pair of opposed conical rolls for each yarn being untwisted, said roll pairs each providing means for determining the delivery speed of yarn from said first means.

5. A method of texturizing yarn comprising the serially continuous steps of applying false twist to yarns after a pretwisting of the yarn has been effected, by false twisting two or more yarns together, passing the yarns through a heating zone for setting the yarns in their twisting condition, untwisting the yarns and separating them into individual yarn strands, applying real twist to the individual yarns and controlling the direction and amount of real twist applied by winding each yarn Onto a bobbin after first passing the yarn through a traveler mounted on a guide ring for circumferential movement of the traveler about the bobbin, with the Winding step being done at a speed to maintain the yarn being delivered to the bobbin from the traveler sufficiently taut to exert lateral forces on the traveler for causing the traveler to rotate about the bobbin, along its guide ring at a rate depending upon the dilference between the delivery speed of the yarn after its separation from at least another yarn, and the peripheral speed of Winding the yarn onto the bobbin.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the bobbin is rotatably driven in a selected direction for applying the desired direction of real twist to the yarn, wherein a guide ring is disposed about the winding bobbin and reciprocated axially of the bobbin length for applying successive layers of yarn to the bobbin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,020,700 2/1962 Van Dijk 57-157 3,069,837 12/1962 Olson 57-157 3,085,389 3/1963 Wegener et al. 57-157 XR 3,154,906 11/1964 Van Assendelft et al. 57-34 3,327,462 6/1967 Wyatt 57-34 3,367,096 2/1968 Comer et al. 57-34 3,404,522 10/1968 Stoll et al. 57-34 3,435,603 3/1969 Rice 57-77.3 XR 3,445,996 5/ 1969 Berger 57-34 FOREIGN PATENTS 777,625 6/ 1957 Great Britain.

DONALD E. WATKINS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 57-157 22233330 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. D d September 29,

Invenc r( It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and rhea said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 47 Patent No. "3,327,562"

should be 3,327,462

SIGNED AND QEALED NW 241970 EMU-mix.

mm B. JR.

am-0mm minim or PatentsJ 

